Bicycle, &amp;c.



No. 634,707. Patentd-Dct. In, I899;

. snmrazs.v r

7 BICYCLE, 81.0.

(Application filed an 15, 1397.

' 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

No. 634,707. Patented 0.01. lo, I899.

L. STURGES. BICYGLE,- 8w.

(Application filed July 16. 1897.) (lo Medal.) 2 Sheetg-Shest 2.

UNITED STATE-VS PATENT OFFICE.

LEE STURGES, or onIoAco, ILLINOIS.

BICYCLE, 80C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,707, dated October10, 1899- Application filed July 16, 1897;

- To (all whom it may concern.-

for so securing a stem or post or similar part seat-post or other part.

Be it known that LLEE STURGES, a citizen of the United States, residingat Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improve-- ments in Bicycles and other Machines,of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to the means of a machine in-a socket inanother part of the machine that at will the parts may be easily andquickly separated orsecured to gether and when secured together thejoint will have forpractical purposes allthe firmness and stability of apermanent joint. 7

The invention is. especially applicable to the seat-post or thehandle-bar stem of a bicycle of modern construction.

The invention consists in the features of novelty which are herein fullydescribed, and in order that it may be f nlly understood I will describeit with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part'ofthis specification, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of aportion of the frame of a machine embodying the inven-v tion. Fig. 2 isa horizontal section thereof on the line 2 2, Figs. 1 and 3, looking inthe direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a'vertical longitudinal sectionthereof on the line 3 3, Fig. 2, looking in the direction'of the arrow.Fig. t is an enlarged vertical transverse section thereof on the line 4;4, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 5 is an elevationshowing in detail and separated the several parts of thedevice forholding the Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section showing in detail andseparated fragments of the three frame-sections that are to bepermanently united, 1 Fig. '7 is an inner face View of one of the twoparts of the 1 fitting which enters into the construction of thepermanent joint by'which the parts shown in Fig. 6 are united. Fig. Sisa diagram showing approximately the shape of a sheet-metal blank fromwhich the part of the fitting shown in Fig. 7 is made. r

A, B, and O are fragments of three frame} sections that are permanentlyunited by a joint embodying the invention. As shown in the drawings,these parts arerespectively the upper reach, the king-post, and the stemof Serial No. 644,663. (No model.)-

;the rear fork D of a bicycle; but, as before intimated, theinvention isnot limited to'embodim'ent in a joint for uniting these identical parts.It is true that the improved joint is especially well adapted foruniting them and that the invention was prompted by the necessity for asatisfactory joint for this purpose, and while I claim specifically thispar-' ticular embodiment of the invention still I desire to have itunderstood that in its broadest aspect the invention is not limitedthereto, but, on the contrary, comprehends a joint having the novelfeatures herein described regardless of the character of the machine inwvhich it is incorporated; -With this understanding for the sake ofbrevity the following description will be confined to the identicalconstruction shown in the drawings, referring to the several parts bythe terms appropriate to them, respectively.

The upper-end of the king-postis not split; but, on the contrary, itisof invariablediameter. The rear end of the upper reach abuts order togive it a firm bearing thereon it is notched so as to'conform exactly tothe surface against the rear side of the king-post, and in order to giveit a firm bearing thereon it is notched and dressed to conform to thesurface thereof. lie in the same plane, the sections A and O proceedingfrom the section B in different diof the "sections A, B, and O is afitting made of sheet metal and in two parts E and E. These parts are ofsimilar construction, excepting that they are in reverse. They the shapeof the blank from which either of them is made being approximatelyrepresented in Fig. 8. gether, they constitute the fitting comprising asocket a,which completely surrounds. the reach A, a'pair of tongues a,proceeding forward from the socket and lying against the opposite sidesof the reach, a socket b, which completely surrounds the king-post, apair oftongue's b, proceeding-downward from the socket and lying againstthe sides of the king-post, a socket c, which completely surrounds thestem 0, and a pair of tongues 0,

thereof. The upper end of the fork-stem abuts These three frame-sectionsall are drawn or stampedout of sheet metal,

. 7s against the front side of the king-post, and in recti'ons,Surroundin g the adjacent portions When in place, taken toproceedingdownward from the socket and lying against thesides of the stem. Each ofthe two parts E E comprises one-half of each of these sockets and one ofeach of the three pairs of tongues. hen the parts are first assembled,they may be temporarily secured in place by means of rivets F; but forper manently uniting them all of the meeting surfaces are brazed orwelded.

In a bicycle of modern construction the upper end of the king-postconstitutes the socket G for the seat-post II. This socket has a lateralopeningg, through which it communicates with an auxiliary socket, and inthis auxiliary socket is disposed means adapted to reach into the mainsocket for engaging the seat-post and holding it in place. The auxiliarysocket is disposed in one of the frame-sections, preferably the upperreach A, and consists of a tube I, which passes transversely throughsaid frame-section, and means for closing its ends. The tube may be ofany desired cross-sectional shape and has in one of its sides a openingt registering with the opening g of the main socket, the opening 1'being formed by cutting away one side of the tube I upon a circle theaxis of which is perpendicular to the axis'of the tube I and thediameter of which is equal to the diameter of the interior of the mainsocket G.

For the purpose of holding the seat-post I prefer to use a pair of jawsJ J, which are disposed in the auxiliary socket and are shaped at jj,respectively, to conform to the seat-post. One of these jaws, J, isperforated for the easy passage of a screw K, while the other is tappedto receive the threaded end of the screw. The screw has a shoulder7c,which bears upon the jaw J. Beyond the shoulder the screw is providedwith a polygonal head for receivinga wrench for turningit. lVhen thescrew is turned in one direction, the two jaws are drawn together,sufficient space beingv left between them to permit them to be drawnfirmly against the seat-post and clamp it between them and the innersurface of the main socket. On the other hand, sufficient space is leftbetween the jaws and the ends of the auxiliary socket to permit them tobe separated far enough to release the seat-post.

As shown in the drawings, the opening tembraces fully one half of thediameter of the tube I, and the object of this is to permit the jaws Jand J to be inserted through the opening t after the tube I is securedin place in the frame. This is not essential, however, and, if desired,the opening maybe shallower, in which case it is necessary to insert thejaws within the tube I before the tube is secured in place in the frame.In order to secure the tube in place, the upper reach A is provided withseats a for receiving the ends of the tube. Depending upon the number ofdegrees of the tube I that are embraced by the opening 2', andconsequently the distance between the centers of the tube and the mainsocket G, these seats a may take the form of notches of circular outlineor they may take the form of perforations, as shown in Fig. 6. At anyrate the ends of the tube pass completely through them and are squaredoif, and the auxiliary socket, of which the tube forms the principalpart, is completed by the fitting E E. In order to accommodate thesquared ends of the tube I, the two parts of the fitting are providedwith internal depressions e, which, being formed by offsetting the metalof which the fitting is made, result in external bosses. Thisembossedfeature might be dispensed with, but I prefer to use it, sinceit provides shoulders against which the ends of the tube bear and whichaid in preventing the lateral displacement of the tube. It will be seenthat the tube and the portions of the fitting by which its ends areclosed result in a socket which is completely closed save for theopening 2', through which it communicates with the main socket, and acircular opening in one of the bosses 6, through which the screw Kpasses, leaving its head exposed for the reception of a wrenchfor-turning it.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A bicycle-frame having in the king-post a socket provided with a lateralopening communicating with the interior of an adjacent tubularframe-section, a tube disposed transversely within said frame section,seats formed on the frame-section and engaging the ends of the tube,means, disposed within said tube, adapted to reach into the socketaforesaid for engaging and holding the seatpost, and means for operatingsaid holding means, substantially as described.

LEE STURGES.

Witnesses:

N. O. GRIDLEY, L. M. HOPKINS.

